Capital Area School Development Association (CASDA)
One of the oldest school study councils in the nation, CASDA
serves as the UAlbany School of Education's field arm, directly reaching
teachers and administrators throughout New York State. CASDA
collaborates with superintendents, principals, and educators to create
unique, evidence-based solutions that cultivate strong leaders, enhance
teacher effectiveness, and increase student achievement. The partnership
between CASDA and the SOE ensures that emerging research and best
practices in education reach those they can most positively affect,
while providing opportunities for on-the-ground research. CASDA's work
encompasses a range of topics in the field of education, including
improving persistently dangerous or under-performing schools, training
professionals on the latest state and federal regulation compliance,
and hosting cross-district professional learning communities.

Center for Human Services Research (CHSR), Education Team
Led by three research scientists in the School of Social
Welfare, the Center for Human Services Research's Education Team has
been integral to the City School District of Albany's efforts to improve
student achievement through the use of data-based decision making and
evaluation of best practices. CHSR has helped the District secure,
implement, and evaluate nearly $20 million in grant projects designed to
assist the neediest children and turn around struggling schools. The
Center's longitudinal tracking and reporting has helped CSDA monitor
trends, assess program impacts, and make better-informed decisions. CHSR
also serves as the data support and evaluation team for the Albany
Promise Cradle-to-Career Partnership.

Michelle Feder - B.A. '11, Ph.D. Candidate, Educational Administration and Policy
As an undergraduate student at UAlbany, Michelle began her
partnership with Club Zoe, an afterschool program for inner-city youth.
That relationship has continued as she works toward her PhD and, over
time, she has launched a number of initiatives for the organization,
including her long-standing Tae Kwon Do program that helps provide youth
with self-discipline and a sense of structure. Michelle, along with her
colleague and friend Hannah Attard, has donated time every week for six
years to work with youth in Albany's struggling South End neighborhood.
Her involvement with the organization has expanded to include
fundraising, food drives, volunteer recruitment, and fostering
partnerships between Club Zoe and other parts of the UAlbany community.

Healthy Environments and Relationships that Support (HEARTS) Initiative
The HEARTS Initiative, led by Dr. Heather Larkin, Associate
Professor, School of Social Welfare, reflects aspects of
community-engaged scholarship and service, directly connecting
practitioners in the community with emerging research and bringing
emerging practices to research. The partnership of 15 organizations
implements a multidimensional intervention plan to address "adverse
childhood experiences" that contribute to many adult risk behaviors,
including psychosocial problems, substance abuse, and biomedical
diseases. The partnership helps address standards of care for both
children and adults, initiates data-driven systems change in social
services and care, and is one of the first instances of a large-scale
collaboration among the region's social service providers.

Dr. Akiko Hosler - Associate Professor, School of Public Health
For the past three years, Dr. Hosler has led a series of
community-based collaborative research and public health service
projects in Schenectady to address and reduce diabetes burden within the
Guyanese community. The Guyanese community makes up about 13% of
Schenectady's population and has been severely impacted by the high
prevalence of Type-2 diabetes. Dr. Hosler has conducted research in
close partnership with the community, to identify and implement
accessible, sustainable, and culturally-appropriate interventions to
prevent and control diabetes. The Schenectady County Public Health
Services and Ellis Hospital have both incorporated this project in to
their "community health needs assessment and action plans" mandated by
the federal Affordable Care Act.

Junior FIRST Lego League Expo
Dr. Jennifer Goodall, Assistant Dean in the College of Computing
and Information, has spearheaded this community-oriented service
program for the past six-plus years, providing an opportunity for 6- to
9-year-olds to learn about science and technology and solve real-world
problems. This work has been a piece of a larger effort to promote
girls' participation and interest in STEM fields. The initiative has
drawn over 750 children from local schools and community-based
organizations who work in teams to use Legos to build models and present
their applications of science and technology to solve a specific real
world problem. Dr. Goodall and her student volunteers act as liaisons
with parents and schools for months ahead of the event to ensure a
positive and fun learning experience for participants. Dr. Goodall and
her partners Bobbi Vogt at KeyBank and Linda Stephen at GSNENY organize a
day on campus to celebrate the accomplishments of the kids with
reviewers, medals, trophies and hi-fives.

Dr. Hal Lawson - Professor, School of Social Welfare, School of Education
Dr. Lawson's long career in academia has focused on
"academically-based community scholarship" in which he contributes to
knowledge generation and theory development as he collaborates with
others to address urgent, complex problems and needs. His scholarly work
focuses on improving outcomes for vulnerable people who live and work
in challenging places, and it is action-oriented, targeting more
expansive interventions, new organizational designs, and policy change.
Dr. Lawson's work is richly interdisciplinary and covers a broad range
of topics. Examples include a federally-funded, state-wide research and
development project to remodel child welfare systems; an NIH-funded
study in Troy using community-based participatory action research to
develop obesity-related innovations; a research and development
initiative sponsored by the NYS Education Department focused on
improving persistently under-performing schools and districts, and
innovative designs for multi-service and community schools, initially in
Albany and now in Schenectady.

Arlene Lev, LCSW-R, CASAC - Lecturer, School of Social Welfare
For almost thirty years, Ms. Lev has provided services to the
region's LGBTQ community, including clinical mental health services,
educational programs and training for community and University
audiences, advocacy on issues of health and welfare, and community
development. With a particular emphasis on serving disenfranchised
members of the community, she developed a number of groundbreaking
initiatives on- and off-campus in the Capital Region, including Rainbow
Access Initiative, a program devoted to reducing health disparities for
LGBTQ people. At UAlbany, Ms. Lev developed one of the first advanced
clinical courses in the nation working with LGBTQ clients. The Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity Project aims to improve the
cultural-competency of professionals working with the LGBTQ community,
providing specialized coursework and field placement opportunities for
Social Welfare students.

Small Business Development Center
Since 1984, UAlbany's SBDC has helped more than 21,400 entrepreneurs access over $335 million in capital and has created or saved over 10,825 jobs in the region. In 2009 and 2013, the University's SBDC was ranked among the top ten SBDCs in the nation by the U.S. Small Business Administration for the "innovative way it champions small businesses while providing programs and services for entrepreneurs." These programs include a character-based microloan fund (SEED), the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, the Veterans Business Outreach Program, and others that directly address local economic development needs. SBDC has also counseled regional small businesses about the Affordable Care Act and collaborates with Chambers of Commerce and technology parks across eleven counties.
University in the High School
The University in the High School program is a 31-year-old program that provides high school students in the Capital Region and beyond with the opportunity to earn UAlbany course credits. As a "bridging" experience to college, UHS courses help students develop the skills and experience necessary for academic success in higher education. UHS staff and faculty liaisons work with teachers, principals, and counselors to ensure that these courses match the rigor of their campus counterparts. Additionally, the reduced course fees make earning college credit more affordable for students and their families. The program currently involved 31 subjects at UAlbany, 212 high schools throughout New York, and 544 high school teachers.